Lane County plans to expand Armitage Park campground to meet 'tremendous demand'

Lane County is planning to add 21 sites to the campground at Armitage Park to help meet the "tremendous demand for camping," said Parks Manager Brett Henry.

The county has gotten a lot of feedback so far on proposals, he said, which led from three potential designs to plans for the 21 full hookup sites on a new loop in the northwest area of the park. That was a middle option, Henry said, and adds sites without expanding too much into the day-use area.

Lane County is welcoming more feedback with an open house at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Goodson Room at the Willamette Building, 3040 N. Delta Highway in Eugene. The open house will showcase preliminary maps and drawings of the proposed expansion, solicit feedback on how best to use the common areas in the campground, and cover project timelines.

The county will adjust plans if feedback calls for tweaks, Henry said, and there are plans to offer guided walks through the proposed expansion at a later point to give people more chance to comment on the project.

There were always plans for a second phase at the campground, he said, and the county has been hearing from a lot of people who are having difficulty making reservations.

It isn't uncommon for all 32 sites at Armitage Park to be full, Henry said.

A sign at the campground entrance showed it was full at least two days last week.

Overall, the county's five parks that offer camping — Armitage, Archie Knowles, Baker Bay, Harbor Vista and Richardson — are about 75% to 85% occupied, he said. The rate likely is higher, he said, because that includes overflow sites that remain unoccupied unless they're needed.

"We’re going to need to look for more space," he said.

So far, there isn't "a ton of space for adding more than a couple sites" at other campgrounds, but the county is expanding where it can, Henry said.

He pointed specifically to adding cabins at Harbor Vista with a view of the ocean and said the county might put all the sites there on sewer if there's available funding.

Lane County is still seeking funding to expand the campground at Armitage Park as the parks division faces millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and the county plans to ask the public to approve a local option levy on the November ballot.

There isn't a solid cost estimate for the project yet. The final number likely will depend on how much it costs to expand the sewer system, Henry said. Plans also call for increasing the water and electric capacity to accommodate the additional spaces.

Learn more about the project

There's more information about the project, including an overlay map showing the location of the proposed new sites, available at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/armitage.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Lane County holding open house on Armitage Park campground expansion